New reserve brigades are to be formed to bolster the nation’s defense, a source familiar with military affairs said yesterday.
Following the establishment of new reserve brigades in Taichung, Kaohsiung, New Taipei City and Hsinchu County, four more brigades are to be established in the second half of this year, and 10 more next year, the source said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in December last year announced a plan to reinstate one year of mandatory military service next year and to form a number of reserve brigades.
Photo courtesy of the Eighth Field Army
The brigades would be responsible for mobilizing reserve forces during wartime and supporting the main battle force, as well as garrison operations, the source said.
The Ministry of National Defense has been reinforcing local brigades since February by forming new reserve brigades, they said.
Army General Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) attended the formation ceremonies of the four new brigades that have been established, indicating the importance of their formation, they added.
New reserve brigades would consist of about 200 soldiers each, with active-duty soldiers serving as brigadiers, battalion commanders and other senior staff, while 15 retired military officers would serve as instructors, the source said.
Each brigade can independently provide refresher training, and organize the mobilization and formation of reserve forces at the tactical level, instead of reserve force training centers, they said.
Chen Wen-jia (陳文甲), a senior consultant for the Institute for National Policy Research, said that forming 18 new reserve brigades would help improve the mobilization of reservists, but added that the regulations for mobilization should be flexible.
Rigid regulations would increase the risk of complications if an emergency order of mobilization is issued, he said.
The new brigades, which would consist entirely of infantry units, should be prepared for multidomain operations in terms of equipment and formation to face Chinese troops that might land in Taiwan, he said.
The traditional infantry organization of platoons, companies and battalions is not suitable for modern warfare, he added.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to